What Does This Mean to Me?

What Does It Mean to My Customers?

For a facility owner the question may arise, “When might I expect an inspection”? OSHA’s NEP focuses first on key industries with known combustible dusts in their processes, but it will consider combustible dust issues on any report or claim if they have reason or cause when visiting the facility. When OSHA does an inspection, it may use current standards - not the version in effect when the equipment was installed. If OSHA finds anything in direct violation with the currently adopted rules and regulations or current NFPA Standards, it can, and will likely issue citations. Because of all of this, customers wonder where to start when thinking about their combustible dust strategies. A dust collector representative can review your operational challenges to help you better understand how to integrate dust collection into your combustible dust management strategy. The following considerations may help you decide how you want the dust collector representative to support your combustible dust management strategy:

Combustible Dust Compliance Date: Awareness Program in Effect, Rulemaking Proposed. OSHA National Combustible Dust Emphasis program was implemented to reduce the number of fatalities related to workplace explosions. Non-compliance with the program can and has already resulted in fines and has required process changes in the industries affected. Processes Affected Include: Metal Dust, Wood Dust, Coal and other Carbon dust, Plastic dusts, Bio-solids, Organic dust such as sugar, flour, paper and soap.